BS: Snoring

Subject: BS: Snoring
From: Abdul The Bul Bul
Date: 16 Aug 10 - 10:25 PM

3 am and can't get back to sleep this time. Mrs C wakes me quite often to let me know that she can't sleep because of my snoring and so I head for the settee. Happens quite often and it's no fun.
Anyone found anything that eases the noise? I read the net advice and tried the throat strips. They seemed to work at first but not for long.
Al

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Rapparee
Date: 16 Aug 10 - 10:45 PM

Go to the doctor and get checked out for sleep apnea.

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Ebbie
Date: 16 Aug 10 - 10:49 PM

That's what I was wondering. Evidently snoring is a common component. Good luck.

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: John on the Sunset Coast
Date: 16 Aug 10 - 11:18 PM

Abdul--Why does not Mrs. Bul Bul sometimes sleep on the settee so that you can get a good night's sleep.

Seriously, do you wake yourself up by your snoring? Do you wake up with a start more than a few times each night? Could be SA as Rapaire alludes.

About 5 or 6 years ago I had the SA test...you sleep wired to a monitor and are videoed in a hospital. I tested negative for it.
And I changed my habits after that. I stopped eating after dinner, lost a few pounds, and started using a nasal spray with my evening ablutions. The heavy snoring went away...now I sound like a well-tuned twin pipes. Mrs. Sunset coast is happy, and that makes me happy with a lot fewer sore ribs.

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Beer
Date: 16 Aug 10 - 11:30 PM

Are you a drinker? Booze that is.

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Abdul The Bul Bul
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 12:21 AM

Not too heavy a drinker Beer and nothing at all last evening.
I agree John, Mrs C should get booted out of the pit on an even basis too but she's stronger than me.
I don't have any problems with the snoring at all, it doesn't ever wake me and I never ever wake with a start (well depends on how hard I get poked in the ribs). Don't think it's SA. but I feel maybe that eating earlier, cleaning out the tubes, losing the paunch, and a spray may be worth trying. Maybe also the old trick of regular exercise!!
Thanks pals.
Al (in sunset town).

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: mousethief
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 01:20 AM

I never had any problems with snoring, it never woke me, and I never woke with a start. That's no guarantee you don't have SA. Get tested.

I didn't even have to be in a hospital -- they gave me a CPAP* to take home which was a recording machine -- every time I stopped breathing it made note of it. When I brought it back the next day they could tell me how many "incidents" I had per hour. It was enough for my insurance to buy me my very own CPAP. I am extremely happy I did. It's a little clunky, and it took a while to train myself to not breathe through my mouth, and I can't take it camping, but it's a godsend. Even on nights when I go to bed with full sinuses and can't breathe through my nose, after about half an hour on the machine, I can.

I also lost 100 pounds, and haven't been retested. But I love the machine now so much I'd rather not know!

*Here is the Wikipedia article -- the dummy with the face mask is atypical; most people have a much smaller apparatus. I could never use something like that anyway, because of my beard: it wouldn't seal. This is the one I have.

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 05:00 AM

I was diagnosed with mild sleep apnoea & have never used the machines, tho I have 2 male friends who wouldn't be without them.

My physio sent me to a breathing course to train me to breathe thru my nose. I also sleep with a tiny piece of micropore tape vertically across my mouth so if I roll over onto my back, I keep my mouth closed & continue to breathe thru my nose.

We've had a few threads about sleep apnoea/apnea & sleeping disorders - Google site search - "sleep apnea" site:mudcat.org

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 06:59 AM

Do, do get checked for apnoea. It's very easy to think that because the snoring doesn't wake you it's trivial. It's a serious condition which can cause daytime fatigue of the sort that sends you to sleep at the wheel, as well as making life miserable for your wife. I write as someone who's been on the receiving end.

When my old man first started using the respirator he would be almost unable to move in the morning because he'd begun sleeping deeply without writhing about and his joints locked up. He is still severely overweight, but considerably more alert in the daytime.

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 07:31 AM

I am sure that there isn't a guy on earth that snores as loudly as my son and he can even start snoring if when he dozes off in a chair it could be anywhere at anytime. It seems to be loudest if he is led flat on his back or if his head is tilted right back sat in a chair. He is overweight too so that is probably contributing to his snoring. What I am going to suggest to him is not eat meals that are so large or eat them too late in the evening and encourage him to sleep on his front rather than his back.

My ex-mother in-law had an old wives tale about sewing a cotton reel to the back of a pair of pajamas which would make it so uncomfortable it would force the snorer not to sleep on his/her back. Don't know if this method works but if it saves having medication or surgery it is worth a try hey?

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: SINSULL
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 08:37 AM

Separate rooms will help.

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 08:46 AM

Lose weight.
I snored like an express train, had the sleep-apnoea big-style, spent at least four nights a week on the sofa.
I lost 70 pounds (I'm not clever, I lost it through long-term pancreatitis and complications) and the snoring/apnoea stopped - absolutely.
I've kept the weight off (we-e-e-e-ll, most of it!) and I haven't snored for four years.

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 08:53 AM

Patsy - sewing something to the back of his jammies is a simple thing to try!

A trip to the doctor is another (simple) thing to try.

good luck

sandra

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: MikeL2
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 11:40 AM

hi

Yes I agree with losing weight and taking up regular exercise.

I used to snore a lot and took doctor's advice and lost weight - not easy but for once I stuck to sensible eating.

Alcohol doesn't hep either. The only time when I snore now is when we go out and I eat and drink a lot.....this is OK as long as I get back on the regime.

cheers

MikeL2

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Abdul The Bul Bul
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 12:09 PM

This is really helpful thanks folkyfolks.
Not going to docs yet. I don't 'do' doctors unless absolutely necessary and then I try not to.
Can't sew anything onto the back of my sleepwear I don't wear anything.
Can't imagine ever using the Doctor Who mask.
No spare room anymore, the kids keep moving back in.
Looking back, the problem has emerged over the last four years or so and this period has seen my weight increase quite a bit since working overseas and then a change of work pattern. I now sit most of every day at the computer after previously being out and about all day. This with absolutely no exercise for many many years, (I'm too busy!). This could be the key eh? I'll work on that.
Al

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Rumncoke
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 12:19 PM

I was waking up more tired than when I went to bed, and everyone commented on my snoring - so I was given a device to measure the oxygen concentration in my blood - they said I might need to use it several times for them to get an accurate picture.

As soon as the first night's record was looked at I was called in and given a CPAP machine - the levels were falling off the bottom of the graph paper for twenty seconds at a time.

I do sometimes wake up these days due to my knees hurting, as I wake up in the same position I went to sleep in.

Breathing through my nose or keeping my mouth closed doesn't stop me snoring if I doze off without the machine.

I learned how to adjust the pressure on my machine as I find I need to change it up or down a little from time to time, if the pollen is bad or I get a cold, it goes up, and if the nose cover starts to make farty noises it goes down.

Although a bit noisy the machine is a wonderful bit of kit.

I bought an invertor for when I go camping in a van. It plugs into the cigarette lighter and provides 240 volts. A heavy duty battery will last a week. I did think of getting a separate battery to use when sleeping in a tent, but I prefer the really comfy warm dry bed in the van these days.

Anne Croucher

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 12:43 PM

After I had an atrial fibrillation attack last summer, the cardiologist suggested that I take a sleep apnea test, because sleep apnea is often connected with A-fib, and untreated is likely to aggravate it.

I was asked by the cardiologist, and also by the sleep center, whether I snored. "I'm told sometimes, but not always, and it never wakes me." It's also a fact, I told them, that subjectively I slept well, seldom waking except for bathroom break. And that my wife often enviously commented on how well I slept.

Arriving at the sleep center, I was wired up for EKG and blood pressure, and multiple wires were stickum'd to my skull and face, and to my legs to record leg movements. There was an infrared camera that watched me all night, and a microphone listened for snoring or calls for assistance. I was placed a CPAP mask, and nighty-night!

About four days after that night's test, I was advised that the neurologist who read the record made by the CPAP recording device and watched the movie diagnosed severe sleep apnea. I had had about 65 incidents of obstruction per hour!

I was prescribed a CPAP, which is paid for entirely by Medicare, I'm glad to say. Actually Medicare rents the unit from the provider for $150 per month for the first year; at the end of the year it's paid for, and then it's mine. I'm also provided replacement or backup masks, hoses, filters periodically. The rental arrangement, I understand, is to provide for patients who abandon use of the equipment for whatever reason, so that the equipment can be repossessed, refurbished, and reissued.

The (nose-area-only) mask felt strange and somewhat uncomfortable at first, but by the second or third night was okay. Indeed, I frequently, if I do wake in the night for the twice-nightly trip, am not aware of wearing the mask, and have to concentrate, "looking" for a little pressure on my upper lip below my nose.

I did try a mask for a week or so which fed air pressure directly to each of the nostrils. I found it intensely irritating, and that it made breathing feel labored and awkward. I know that some patients like that form of mask, but not I!

That's enough for this post. I'll submit another soon, covering more about my experience post CPAP installation, and try to answer any questions.

Dave Oesterreich

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Allan C.
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 12:49 PM

When it comes to snoring I sincerely believe I could peel paint on a good night - according to a number of sources. (BTW, there are one or two female 'Catters I know who could give me serious competition.)I've spent plenty of time on the couch, (as has Carmen,) because of my snoring. I have tried a number of remedies including the nose strips, the throat sprays, the nasal sprays and the tablets. (Did anyone besides me notice that one of the primary ingredients of at least one brand of the tablets is the main component of poison ivy?) All of these seem to work to one degree or another. None of them does any good at all if I have consumed alcohol that evening. I've been to a specialist and have undergone a sleep study with no material results. So, it comes down to a hit and miss situation. Sometimes I have a good night - or at least that is the report I get in the morning - and sometimes I don't. Both Carmen and I are pretty tired of camping in the living room. I keep trying to find the magic bullet; but even losing weight hasn't helped so far. I'm hoping that perhaps this thread will bear new fruit.

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Joe_F
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 03:21 PM

I used to wake myself up snoring, but I found I could prevent it by tilting my head back (lying on my side). That may be a peculiarity of my plumbing, but it is so simple that it may be worth trying.

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Clontarf83
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 04:22 PM

I use a CPAP machine, which you can take camping if you want to--two options--buy a battery pack (expensive), or plug it into a 12 volt outlet using a shielded cable--much cheaper.

I have sleep apnea which puts a tremendous strain on your heart and leaves you exhausted through the day. I thought I would never adapt to the CPAP but i did and now i won't leave home without it. It has built in adaptors for voltages in different countries. (You may need a plug adaptor as well)

Just get tested for sleep apnea, and if the tests show positive (moderate to severe), get the machine--it will help you live longer

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: mousethief
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 04:29 PM

(Did anyone besides me notice that one of the primary ingredients of at least one brand of the tablets is the main component of poison ivy?)

For goodness' sake, don't rub it on your legs!

I do note that stinging nettles are said to make a wonderful tea.

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: GUEST,Abdul on the other PC
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 05:12 PM

Hey Allan C you could be me by your description and bizarrely my real name is Alan Clayton. Bad news about the weight loss not working, I was counting on that and exercise.
Joe F, about 2 years ago I found the head position thingy on the net and it seemed to be the answer but only for a few weeks and then didn't seem to work. I tried all the special shaped pillows too but ....no good. I always sleep on my side, on my back is GUARANTEED to be loud snoring and so a definite a no no.
I suggested earplugs for Mrs C but she's not keen, although she is part of the problem being a very light sleeper.
Almost bed time....oh well. Lifes rich tapestry eh?

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Allan C.
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 06:56 PM

Hey, A.C., don't give up on the weight loss thing. It can't hurt and could possibly help - mileage may vary. Carmen is something of a light sleeper as well, which doesn't help the situation at all, of course. However, because of the light sleeping issue she does take either sleeping pills or alternatively, some drops she found at what I have always referred to as "the groovy store", aka, health food store. On the nights when she makes use of these we have a pretty good shot at avoiding the living room camping thing. But we both make a conscious effort to avoid whatever drugs we can - even the homeopathic ones. At times, though, ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 17 Aug 10 - 07:24 PM

Snoring certainly reduced me to using earplugs (the soft foam ones made by Quies suited me best) in order to get any sleep at all, and I'm a very sound sleeper otherwise; my babies were able to help themselves without waking me up.

For goodness sake get tested before you kill someone or someone kills you. Don't force a partner to dose themselves with unnecessary sleeping pills on the grounds that must be their problem rather than the snorer's.

Valmai

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 18 Aug 10 - 06:33 PM

The cotton reel (or other hard object) sewn into the pyjamas is to encourage the wearer to roll over onto their side or to a position less conducive to snoring. It doesn't work. Leastways, it doesn't work on everyone.

Mostly snoring is caused by air passing over the soft tissues in the throat and mouth and thus vibrating. Moving the body so that the head is supported or the airways unobstructed can stop it, hence the inducement to turning over being sewn into pyjamas. Trouble is, there are some people who can snore in any position - and I mean ANY.

People think snoring is a natural thing - and they'd be right - but it can also indicate some pretty scary health problems. People also think that snoring is a joke - it isn't. It can have dire consequences for the person who shares the sleeping space as well. Surveys and studies reckoned that someone who lives with a chronic snorer can lose a couple of years off their life due to sleep disturbance and related health issues.

Do you find yourself dozing off in the middle of the day, or early evening, or just whenever you sit down for a while? Are you permanently tired? Go and see a doctor and get yourself referred to a specialist sleep clinic. Do it before your sleeping partner kills you, because one day, sure as God made little green bugs, they will make an attempt on your life and will get away with it by citing sleep deprivation and mental disturbance as a cause.

I would advocate separate sleeping arrangements too. If there's no room in the house, try separate beds in the same room. If you can't fit 2 beds in, try a bedframe that will accomodate 2 single mattresses (great if you prefer different firmness of mattress) or a foam mattress so that the snoring doesn't vibrate through the springs - which in my experience is half the problem.

Losing weight is always a good thing if you are prone to chubbiness and can only help. You might not notice the difference right away, but it could improve so many aspects of life.

Go and see a doctor about it. Make sure they take you seriously because they sure as hell with have to when you turn up at ER with a breadknife in your ribs.

LTS

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: dwditty
Date: 18 Aug 10 - 06:46 PM

Specific Effects of Sleep Apnea
The detrimental effects of sleep apnea range from annoying to life threatening. These effects of sleep apnea can include:

•Depression
•High blood pressure
•Irritability
•Sexual dysfunction
•Learning and memory problems
•Falling asleep while at work, on the phone, or driving.

People with severe sleep apnea are two to three times more likely to have automobile crashes. The risk of heart attacks, high blood pressure, heart failure, and stroke also increase if a person has sleep apnea.

I have snored all my life. Diagnosed with hypertension before I was 30. ABout 10 years ago, I took the sleep apnea quiz (google it, it is everywhere) and got checked out. Turns out I was waking myself up (although I didn't know it) about every 30 seconds. This means that I never hit REM sleep, which is necesary to provide the "sleep benefits" to your body. CPAP completely ended the problem. Yeah, everyone says they could not sleep with a anything on their face, but it takes about 2 nights to get used to it...and I no longer wake up all stuffed up.

dw

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Helen
Date: 20 Aug 10 - 03:53 PM

Sandra in Sydney,

Back in 2005 I did the Buteyko breathing course with Debbie Meredith in Newcastle, Oz. Her company is now called BreatheEasy Health Solutions, located in Coffs Harbour. Before that I could lift the roof off with my snoring. Luckily I had a spare room, so I could sleep there.

The Buteyko method changed everything, no drugs, no machines, nothing but a few simple breathing techniques, and the tape to keep my mouth closed through the night. I still snore, but not anywhere near to the same degree as before. I now get a full night's sleep every night - barring having the 'flu etc - and I don't feel tired all the time during the day.

Losing weight did help me a bit, but before doing the Buteyko breathing I was snoring whether I had put the weight on or lost it.

I did a Google search, and this is the first page I found, but there is heaps more on the 'Net about it. http://www.buteykoscotland.co.uk/index.htm

The course cost a few hundred dollars but was worth every cent. I did it every evening for a week, but I think the other alternative was a weekend course.

I've been very stressed over the last few months, so my sleep has been disturbed most nights - not by snoring, but by waking up worrying. My last blood test showed my cholesterol is up, and my blood pressure readings are up. I'm sure it is because of the sleep disturbance, but prior to this stress, I was getting on track with my health because my snoring was significantly reduced.

I can't praise it enough. Simple, effective, drug-free and no special equipment.

Helen

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: JHW
Date: 20 Aug 10 - 04:42 PM

Just seen a cartoon with a sign above the bed aka Home Sweet Home but
THANK YOU FOR NOT SNORING

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 30 Aug 10 - 02:13 PM

There was a young man from Caluctta
Who coated his tonsils in butter
Thus reducing his snore
From a thunderous roar
To a soft, oleaginous mutter.

Quoted in Round the Horne, Series Four.

Valmai

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Joe_F
Date: 30 Aug 10 - 06:13 PM

Valmai: That limerick is by Ogden Nash.

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: gnu
Date: 30 Aug 10 - 07:17 PM

Nash hash?

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Valmai Goodyear
Date: 31 Aug 10 - 04:48 AM

Thanks, Joe F. I'd assumed it was quoted by rather than written by Barry Took et al.

Valmai

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 31 Aug 10 - 01:48 PM

Al... if you have a paunch, seriously, where are you keeping it? The bottom of your feet? Looks to me you don't need to lose any weight. Gain is more like.

I agree with others though. Go to doc. Maybe allergy plugging sinuses or causing post nasal drip. Have you recently replaced carpet? Is it possibly the leavings of dust mites? Maybe mattress replacement, or a hypo- allergenic mattress cover for it would improve things.

Remember you were in Dubai for a year. Maybe you have developed sensitivity to the late summer spectrum of pollens, spores, molds or fungii in Kent.

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: Abdul The Bul Bul
Date: 31 Aug 10 - 06:01 PM

Well VT, I do have a larger girth than I ever had before and I don't like it. The extra belly mass is also aggravating my hiatus hernia and giving me a lot of indigestion. But no doctor!! I just don't DO doctors unless I really have to. I've started exercising and taking the food intake seriously again and the snoring is easing says Alexandra.
Will have a look at the Buteyko though Helen.
dw, I don't have any of those effects except maybe irritabilty but I put that down to my 60 odd summers and anyway that is lessening these days not increasing.
Al

Subject: RE: BS: Snoring
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 01 Sep 10 - 06:59 AM

My son has lost some weight now by cutting down portions and cutting out the sweet things and generally getting more exercise. I didn't do the cotton reel remedy in the end. It has been summer (although you wouldn't know it sometimes) and there wouldn't have been anything to sew it on to. I just suggested that he tried sleeping on his front or side and I can report that it seems to be working so far.